Jesus came to set us free, so we should beware of any doctrine or teaching that effectively enslaves us. Even if you are in a charismatic or evangelical church that considers itself to be free, you still need to be on your guard. For false teachings do not come with a big warning sign attached, but are much more insidious.
A teaching advocating circumcision would hold no attraction for us, but consider why it would do so for 1st century Galatians. Circumcision is taught in the Old Testament. From Abraham onwards they had been circumcised (or were supposed to be). Nowadays it is easy to forget the Jewish roots of the gospel, but in Galatia they were still very close to it. Taking all these things together, it is easier to see why they would be attracted to this teaching. They would want to feel that they truly belonged, so if someone said they needed to be "more Jewish" in order to do so they would be inclined to believe them.
We should beware teachings that carry the hook "if you want to really belong ...". Jesus Christ, the Cross and faith in Him are the only grounds for "belonging". Indeed if we give in to false teachings then we are saying that Jesus need not have bothered dying on the cross for us. A couple of examples of such "false teachings" would be "you must speak in tongues" (as opposed to encouraging people to ask for the gift of tongues, which is totally different), " you must use the KJV of the Bible" (or any other particular version).
A teaching advocating circumcision would hold no attraction for us, but consider why it would do so for 1st century Galatians. Circumcision is taught in the Old Testament. From Abraham onwards they had been circumcised (or were supposed to be). Nowadays it is easy to forget the Jewish roots of the gospel, but in Galatia they were still very close to it. Taking all these things together, it is easier to see why they would be attracted to this teaching. They would want to feel that they truly belonged, so if someone said they needed to be "more Jewish" in order to do so they would be inclined to believe them.
We should beware teachings that carry the hook "if you want to really belong ...". Jesus Christ, the Cross and faith in Him are the only grounds for "belonging". Indeed if we give in to false teachings then we are saying that Jesus need not have bothered dying on the cross for us. A couple of examples of such "false teachings" would be "you must speak in tongues" (as opposed to encouraging people to ask for the gift of tongues, which is totally different), " you must use the KJV of the Bible" (or any other particular version).
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